How valuable is your company data? That may seem like a silly question in this era of digital information. Yet, the valuable data your company owns; including customer records, client lists, ﬁnancials, templates, processes, patents, and trade secrets can be lost to a competitor with nothing more than an e-mail to the wrong party.

Most accounting professionals are familiar with data analytics, but few are equipped to use data analytics to generate business insights. CFOs recognize that this specialized area oﬀers the opportunity to really drill down into the numbers and uncover patterns that could help predict potential market ﬂuctuations, how the company reacts to those ﬂuctuations, better understand company proﬁtability, or even uncover fraud.

Remember when you were a rookie in your career? Maybe you had a mentor who gave you some key advice or that extra vote of confidence you needed when making a choice along your career path. I’m hopeful you still have a mentor, even if you’ve reached a level of success in your career. Maybe you never had a mentor, but at times sure wished you’d had someone to listen to your questions and support your career! Maybe you have years of experience and the knowledge to help someone else who is new to your industry. Are you ready to be a mentor? Are you Mentor Material?

The reports are in. From IDC to McKinsey to Gartner, all are predicting a shortage of Big Data Talent. McKinsey Global Institute goes so far as to predict a shortage of 1.5 million big data experts by 2018. Gartner had said that Big Data demand will create 4.4 million jobs globally by this year - but only one-third of those will be ﬁlled.